


If we ever get to have just one more chance

by shaenanigans



Series: Hao Ting/Xi Gu Second Chances [2]
Category: HIStory3: 那一天 | HIStory3: Make Our Days Count
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Closure, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Reunions, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22816474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shaenanigans/pseuds/shaenanigans
Summary: Hao Ting drinks in the sight of him by the side road, a few people gathered around him. A woman is holding a fan to his pallid-cheeks and an older man is tending to what looks to be lacerations on his forearm. He looks dazed but otherwise okay. Hao Ting's chest unfurls and he remembers to breathe again.He almost lost Xi Gu today, but someone had saved him and he couldn't be more grateful. At the hospital, he sees him. The stranger the bystanders had described as the one who came to his baobei's rescue. He thought he'd say his thanks and that's it. He never thought he'd end up face to face with... himself.
Relationships: Xiang Hao Ting/Yu Xi Gu
Series: Hao Ting/Xi Gu Second Chances [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708111
Comments: 27
Kudos: 87





	If we ever get to have just one more chance

**Author's Note:**

> I'm taking a break from Miracle for now my dears. I'll pick it up again middle of March. So here's a oneshot that became too long so I've decided to make it into a three shot instead. The time travel theory I used in the Miracle verse is different in this fic causing vastly different outcomes. 
> 
> Unbeta'd because my eyes are still shiz.

Holding the wallet Xi Gu left behind, Hao Ting rushes to the door only to run back to the kitchen to turn the stove off. It shouldn't take him long to get back to the apartment after giving his baobei the money, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

The last thing they need right now is a house fire.

After making sure that everything is as it should be, he exits the apartment with a skip in his step. He looks up to the sky and smiles at the blue clouds overhead. The sun isn't too hot and there's a slight breeze in the air. The weather couldn't be more perfect for his parents' visit. 

Xi Gu had been looking forward to today. He'd been practicing to cook so he could help prepare this lunch date with his soon-to-be in-laws.

In-laws. Hao Ting sighs giddily. He knows its too early to think of such things, but he can't imagine a future without Xi Gu and he's often thought about their married life together. But the reality is they're only starting university and as much as he loves his Xiao Yu and wanted to marry him yesterday, the promise they made of showing everyone that they could have an amazing life together takes precedence.

His parents will call him immature to consider marriage while still in school, dismiss it as another idea of a teen who knows nothing about life. And so he has to show them that he can stick to his plans and achieve his goals. Xi Gu will no doubt graduate top of his class at NTU and so Hao Ting vowed to do the same. And maybe then, with their dreams closer within reach, they will finally believe him capable and worthy enough to formally ask for Xi Gu's hand in marriage. His parents, especially Pa, will have no choice but to give them his blessing.

Mind filled with fantasies of the best way to propose is when Hao Ting sees a group of people up ahead. His steps grind to a halt, smile falling from his face as he strains for a better look of what is happening not too far away. Two women walk towards him, muttering feverishly with arms moving about and occasionally pointing back to the crowd.

"That poor boy. Those cars were so fast and he's so skinny." Hao Ting hears one of them say, his heart constricting, ice suddenly in his veins as soon as the words sink in. He turns to them as the other woman nods vigorously in reply. "I know! That kind of impact could've killed—."

Hao Ting grips the nearest one's shoulders so hard she almost topples over at being violently shaken. "What did you say?!"

"Hey, that hurts! Let me go!" She exclaims, twisting out of his hold with the help of her friend. He gets pushed back none-too-gently and they both look at him with incredulity until recognition registers in the shorter female's gaze.

"You're the new tenants." She exclaims in shock, eyes darting towards the intersection then to her friend. "I knew he looked familiar. I saw the two of them move in a few months ago." She gasps, hand covering her mouth as Hao Ting feels his stomach drop to the floor. "Oh no. You. He..."

Hao Ting's running at full speed before he knows what he's doing. 

He arrives at the scene, cold and clammy and heart desperately trying to make a hasty retreat out his throat. He pushes his way through the sea of onlookers, terrified of what he'd find on the other side. He stumbles to the road and feels his entire world crash down on him, gasping for air that doesn't loosen the anchor in his chest when he sees the body face down on the ground and blood on the asphalt. No. _No no no no no._

"Hao Ting!" He jolts toward the familiar voice, frantically trying to pinpoint the source until he hears his name again.

"Xiao Yu." He sharply exhales as soon as he sees him, drinking in the sight of his sprawled form by the side road. There's people gathered around him. Xi Gu has a water bottle in hand while a woman is holding a fan to his pallid-cheeks and an older man is tending to what looks to be lacerations on his forearm. He looks dazed but otherwise okay. Hao Ting's chest unfurls and he remembers to breathe again.

He looks down to the figure that he'd been sure was his baobei. He intimately knows that body, every inch of him and he could have sworn that had been Xi Gu. But there's no one there now. Did he hallucinate that?

Hao Ting doesn't dwell on the thought a second longer and scrambles forward as if possessed. The man applying first aid to Xi Gu's wounds inches to the side in time for Hao Ting to fall to his knees and pull him into his embrace. He chokes back a sob as soon as their skins touch, the terror blanketing him whole slowly receding as his fingers rake through the soft strands of hair, one arm circling his slender waist. Xi Gu's thundering heartbeat finds its rhythm against his own. He's warm like he should be. Alive. And Hao Ting weeps in relief. "You're okay."

"I'm okay." Xi Gu replies shakily, holding on just as tight, face buried against the crook of his neck. He's crying, Hao Ting realizes in the next breath as he feels hot tears against his skin. He's also quaking like a leaf. "The car came out of nowhere and all I could think about was you."

Hao Ting hugs him tighter, breathing a lungful of his scent to ground himself as well, lips pressed against Xi Gu's neck, comforting strokes across his back. Eventually, he pulls away far enough to wipe away the tears from his baobei's face. "Sshh. You're alright. It's over now." He croons sweetly, and then he's kissing him on the forehead, the tip of his nose, his cheeks before softly claiming his lush mouth.

"I was on the right light." Xi Gu's lower lip trembles when they part, like he's trying his best to keep it together. He no longer looks dazed, but the fear is still in his eyes, so palpable that Hao Ting feels it likes his own. "You told me to always be careful with crossing streets since that day with the motorcycle. But there were these cars." His tears well up again and his expression completely crumbles. "I thought I was going to die."

Hao Ting sucks in a breath, feeling all the air get punched out of his lungs at the realization that he could have lost him today. All because he asked him to come back for his wallet. If anything bad had happened to him, it would have been his fault. "Yu Xi..." 

"We promised to have an amazing future. And I almost—" Xi Gu hiccups and clings to him like he can't bear to let go. Hao Ting returns the hug just as fiercely, so profoundly grateful that though he looks shaken, he doesn't have any life threatening injuries. Hao Ting forces himself not to think on the what ifs. All that matters is he's alive and not badly hurt. Xi Gu needs him now. He can have his meltdown later.

With Xi Gu plastered across his chest, Hao Ting looks up at the onlookers. "Did anyone take note of the license plate?" He asks through the lump in his throat, understanding enough of the conversation floating around him to conclude that Xi Gu nearly became a victim of a hit and run. 

"It was so fast. Everyone panicked. No one thought to take note of anything." One of the bystanders says and Hao Ting inwardly curses.

"We're just happy no one got killed." Another one chides in and Hao Ting mentally adds himself to that list.

The man from earlier kneels beside him again and gently asks for Xi Gu's arm so he can continue dabbing the antiseptic. He's familiar, and now with the fear no longer front and center in his thoughts, it only takes a second to put a name to the face.

"Officer Meng." Hao Ting addresses the denim-clad man, the cop, living next door to their apartment.

"I took the liberty of calling an ambulance." Meng Shao Fei informs him with that familiar smile of his even as Xi Gu hisses at the sting. His baobei looks beat, slumped against his shoulder with Hao Ting's arm wrapped around his waist. "I suggest x-rays to be sure. Xiao Gu might have avoided collision but it's best to make certain he doesn't have any other minor injuries that can worsen over time."

Hao Ting listens attentively as the police officer instructs him on what he should ask the doctors once they arrive at the hospital. He apologizes for not coming with them. Meng Shao Fei apparently received a text message about an emergency at home and that's where he was headed when he came across Xi Gu. But he promises to look into the CCTV cameras in the neighborhood so they can get the license plate of the car that almost run Xi Gu over. A civilian teenager almost got injured or worse and Officer Meng was incensed on their behalf.

He's aware that him and Xi Gu are a couple— they share a wall after all— but he's never harshly judged their relationship. He was a cop so Hao Ting thought him as the typical macho asshole. But he's been nice and kind and even ready to knock down doors and tell off any of their noisy neighbors to turn their music down or he's dragging their sorry asses to the station whenever he and Xi Gu had to study.

And then there's this. Despite his own emergency, Officer Meng stopped to help and came to Xi Gu's aid. Hao Ting is so thankful for his presence, that he was near Xi Gu, a familiar friendly face to soothe and assure him when Hao Ting couldn't.

"Looks like he's fallen asleep. That must have taken all the energy out of him." Meng Shao Fei says, stashing his first aid kit away. Before Hao Ting could panic at seeing Xi Gu unconscious, the officer puts his worries to rest. "He didn't have a concussion. No dilated pupils."

Hao Ting nods in relief as they hear the ambulance sirens from a distance.

"Other than the gashes on his arms, he doesn't seem to have any other physical injuries." The police officer adds as he starts waving at the approaching vehicle before turning back to address him. "That we can see anyway. Like I said, X-Rays to be sure, okay?"

"Okay. I'll make sure he'll get the X-Rays done." Hao Ting agrees.

"I don't think the boy got hurt too much." An old frail female voice speaks out unexpectedly behind them. "I'm more worried about the one who saved him from getting hit by the car. That man took the brunt of the fall when he pushed the boy out of the way." 

"Someone saved Xiao Gu?" It seems this is news to Officer Meng as well as they both look to the grandma with matching looks of surprise.

"Mhm. Couldn't see much of his face." Grandma touches her cheeks to emphasize. "He was wearing a black mask, like those boys my grandchild likes to watch on TV. He also had a cap on. Big guy." There's a chorus of agreements behind her. She squints up at Hao Ting. "Kind of like you, now that I think about it. He was fast. Came to the boy's rescue and had him all wrapped up in his arms when they skidded across the ground."

"And where is he now?" Officer Meng asks, putting his 'official police business' face on.

She shrugs. "Don't know. He saw you approaching and quickly left. He was limping. Think he hurt his leg. Very suspicious if you ask me." She squints some more as if trying to remember something. "Ah! He kept repeating the name Xiao Yu too. Is that the boy's name?" She asks, facing Officer Meng who shakes his head.

He listens to them talk, foreboding in his chest that he can't explain.

Xi Gu's last name might be Yu but Hao Ting's endearment of him is a different character for the word and no one else calls him "Xiao Yu" like Hao Ting does. How did the grandma know of the endearment he calls his boyfriend? And why would she hear it from a stranger? 

Officer Meng asks Hao Ting about the name and he simply tells him the truth. Only a couple of friends, Xi Gu and himself know of it. Hao Ting thinks of the twins. Xi Gu's rescuer was big and they're the only two he could think of close to him in height and body size and aware of his nickname. But if it was them, why leave when help came? They should have called him by now too if that were the case.

It doesn't add up.

"I asked if he needed help." The old woman continues. "Look here." Pointing at the pool of blood on the ground, she adds. "He was bleeding." 

The ambulance rolls to a stop and Hao Ting reluctantly releases Xi Gu as the first-responders extract him carefully from his lap.

"I'll finish everything here." Meng Shao Fei tells him. "Be sure to be by Xiao Gu's side when he wakes up. He'll no doubt look for you first."

Hao Ting nods and then bows his head afterwards in gratitude. "Thank you, Officer Meng."

"Aiya. What did I say about that Xiao Ting? Call me Ge."

Hao Ting tries to smile amidst the turmoil still rattling in his chest and nods again. "Thank you, Shao Fei-Ge. I'll see you later then." He says and climbs onto the back of the vehicle.

On the way to the hospital, the grandma's words kept going in circles in his thoughts. Hao Ting repeatedly tried to figure out the identity of Xi Gu's mystery rescuer but all he got for his trouble was a big fat nothing. When it was proving to be a futile endeavor, he made the short phone call to his parents, informing them of what happened and they all agreed to meet in the emergency room. 

Xi Gu woke up for a bit while getting his vitals taken. He was administered anesthesia to put him to sleep as they worked on his stitches. Hao Ting had spent the next fifteen minutes glued to his side like a guard dog until he had to be taken in for X-Rays. Despite being in a drugged state, Xi Gu worried about the hospital bill but Hao Ting assured that he'll take care of it. That all he had to worry about was focusing on feeling better. 

Budget on their rent will be a lot tighter than usual. But he'll make it work. Somehow. He'll do more overtime on the weekends if he has to.

When the X-Rays came back unremarkable, Hao Ting finally felt the tension he carried around for the past hour pour out of him like a waterfall. 

He was trying to settle the bill when his parents arrived and pretty much bullied him into letting them pay.

"You're already paying for your rent. Let us handle this." Mommy kept insisting and if Hao Ting was anything like his previous freeloading self, he would have been all for dumping his financial problems to them. But he was trying to prove that he could support himself and Xi Gu throughout college and having his parents take care of their bills was not the message he wanted to deliver. 

"I said I'll take care of it." Hao Ting says for the umpteenth time as he opens his water bottle. He'd been so frazzled earlier that he'd realized too late that he was parched. Thank Buddha for hospital vending machines. "Xi Gu is my responsibility, you don't have to—" 

"We're not just doing this for you." Pa's exasperated sigh cuts in between his and Mommy's argument. With one hand on his hip and the other pointing at Hao Ting like a misbehaving child, he looks at the end of his patience. Hao Ting eyerolls, already used to his father's dramatics and resumes drinking. "Stop being so stubborn and let us pay so we can all go home and my boy can rest. Xiao Gu is our son too."

Water sprays onto the hospital floors as Hao Ting sputters. He hurriedly wipes his mouth then looks to his father like a deer caught in headlights.

There is no way he heard that right. Especially not from Pa who'd been nothing but generous with his disapproving glares and unimpressed eyeballing since Xi Gu became a fixture in their lives. He'd actually been semi-resigned for their relationship to remain strained for the next few decades. But then what is this? He's suddenly throwing around words that Hao Ting never thought he could. He can barely wrap his mind around this change, equal parts disbelieving and elated at his father's seeming acceptance.

"Close your mouth Xiang Hao Ting." Mommy tsks and then reaches for his jaw to nudge his slack mouth shut. "Flies might get in." She says and plucks the bill from his nerveless fingers and proceeds to walk past her son to smile genially at the cashier.

Eventually unfreezing from his stupor, Hao Ting narrows his eyes at his mother who is unsuccessfully trying to hide her smile behind her fingers after she was done paying. "What you said." He says, sharp gaze shifting to his father. "You better not be joking, Pa! No take backs!"

The older man looks to the heavens as if praying for strength. "What do you take me for? You brat have only just been nagging me nonstop for months of how perfect your boyfriend is. At this rate I'm ready to exchange one son for another and ship you off to outer space." He grumpily declares and then pins him in place with yet another disapproving glare. "And what are you wearing? You're going to catch a cold."

Hao Ting blinks, then looks down his body. Now that Pa mentioned it, he is feeling kind of chilly. It was okay out in the sun but the hospital premises suddenly feels near freezing, now that it's brought to his attention, for his sleeveless broccoli-printed shirt, shorts and slippers. He rubs his arms and shivers helplessly. "I was in a hurry. Didn't have time to think on a change of clothes." 

The elder male Xiang sighs and proceeds to take his jacket off to wind around his shoulders. "There." He says, patting along the suit's lining as Hao Ting regards him like some kind of body snatcher. "The last thing we need is you getting sick and worrying Xiao Gu again."

Hao Ting opens his mouth but can't find the words especially after seeing his father's eyes soften at the mention of Yu Xi Gu.

"You said he can't focus when he's worried or afraid. You have to take better care of yourself you brat. What use are all that studying and hard work if you're going to fall sick." He steps back then asks where he left his boyfriend as if he didn't just turn his world upside down. "Well?"

"Oh umm." Hao Ting stammers, and rotates in place like an idiot before making a conscious decision to turn left. "This way."

His parents nod at him then at each other as he begins to lead the way towards the minor injuries wing, pinching his cheeks along the way hard enough to make his eyes water. So... definitely awake then. Did that mean his parents are finally 100% okay with him and Xi Gu? Is that why they asked to come over for lunch all of a sudden? Did they... was Pa officially giving them his blessing?

He glances back at his parents like he can't believe this is really happening. It just seems so sudden especially Pa, who never showed any indication that he was slowly warming up to Yu Xi Gu. Tears of happiness well up in Hao Ting's eyes as he focuses back on his steps. Oh, he can't wait to tell his Xiao Yu all about this! He's going to be so thrilled! With a wide smile blossoming on his face, he turns the corner leading to the area where he'd left his baobei sleeping only to stop in his tracks, blood running cold at the sight that meets his eyes.

There's a man standing by Xi Gu's bedside. 

His fingers are resting against Xi Gu's cheeks as he slept on, unknowing of the potential danger he's in. The stranger is big. Bigger than Hao Ting and suddenly it seems so crystal clear. The grandma's words. The way she described Xi Gu's rescuer. Black face mask. Wearing a cap.

"Xiang Hao Ting, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly stop?" Mommy asks behind him, voice loud enough to carry across the limited space causing the man to look up and Hao Ting to feel a strange sense of deja vu practically punch him in the face as soon as their gazes met.

He's seen those eyes before.

Like a child caught, the man pulls his hand from Xi Gu's person and quickly walks, no, limps to the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Hao Ting calls out but only gets blatantly ignored as the stranger's steps pick up speed. "Hey! Wait! You with the cap!" 

"Xiang Hao Ting, what's going on?" His parents ask in unison worriedly.

"Mommy! Pa! Wait here. Please look after Yu Xi Gu. I have to go."

"Hao Ting, calm down. You're scaring me son."

"That man, he knows Xiao Yu. But I don't know him." And yet he's not completely unfamiliar either. Maybe he's someone Xi Gu knew before Hao Ting. He's sure he'd seen him somewhere. He swallows and forces himself to take slow breaths. It wouldn't do him any good to panic. Just because the man has so far acted strangely secretive doesn't have to mean he has bad intentions. He saved Xi Gu after all.

"I just need to talk. Figure out who he is." And thank him for his help, he adds mentally, because he just knows that if it weren't for that man, Xi Gu would be in a far worse condition than he is in now. "I'll be quick." Hao Ting says and rushes to the spot where he last saw the stranger. He looks down, searching for traces of blood like cookie crumbs following a trail, recalling grandma's words about the man's possible injury.

Once Hao Ting finds what he's looking for, it doesn't take long to track him. A mere thirty seconds or less and he's already seeing his broad back up ahead, slumped against a wall near the MRI area leading to the hospital's back doors. 

After taking a few steadying breaths, he begins his approach.

With each careful, halting step, the fear and confusion in his chest gradually turn to concern the nearer he gets as he sees more of the man's profile. He soon realizes that he's hunched forward, body quivering from the force of his coughs. Loud, hacking coughs that has Hao Ting's throat convulse painfully in sympathy. He's about to reach out, attempt to touch his shoulder when he suddenly crumples to the floor. 

Reflexes kicking in, Hao Ting takes the last step forward, arms outstretched to break the man's fall. He's light, is the thought that flash through his mind as soon as he catches him, the other man's head landing over his shoulder. He thought he'd be heavy.

The way he looks, does not correspond with the way he feels. 

Hao Ting gingerly lays him down in an upright position, maneuvering him to lean against the wall. His eyes zero in on the torn clothing of the man's dark-washed jeans, the rich color of blood serving like a neon sign. Hao Ting looks up and finds the man is no longer wearing a mask, but his head is tilted sideways with his hair like a curtain on his face, blood around the mouth that's beginning to look really familiar.

He reaches forward and lifts his hair to the side. "Who are—" Hao Ting's voice trails off, promptly freezing and questioning reality in a heartbeat because the pair of fluttering, dazed bloodshot eyes that meets him are none other than his own. 

**Author's Note:**

> Writing is hard 😭 LOL. Ugh. Why do I do this to myself. If you liked this piece, please feel free to let me know what you think! It makes my whole week! And I just really want to talk more about our boys T^T


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